Lifespan Psychology- Week One

Lifespan Development

For our first week of class, I ready Chapter One in our Lifesmart text, and viewed a Words of EnCOURAGEment video on the Mobius Strip. 

As we are introduced to the subject in our text,  Lifespan Development is the way researchers look at our lives over the years. They look at not only our physiological changes, but our biological and social changes as well in their research. As I have worked with children of varying ages, I can really see how this would be similar and also how it would help us look at the different life stages.  A young baby cannot walk, however a two year old can.  A five year old may decide they do not like meat one week while loving it the next, but a twelve year old may decide to become a vegetarian.  Looking at how children change and develop through not only the eyes of a caregiver but as someone learning and researching the changes makes me see how much we all really change, not only over the course of a few years but from week to week and month to month.   

While the first chapter of the book was interesting, I really thought the video was more thought provoking.  I have heard of the Mobius strip in the context of shapes, but never as something to describe ones life.  In this video, Parker Palmer describes how everyone has two lives- the "on stage" life, where things influence you and your actions and ego comes into question and another life, "backstage".  The "backstage life is more who you really are: beliefs, intuition, values, i.e. your soul.  Palmer mentioned that you can become "centered" and try to combine the two.  This reminds me of my yoga classes a great deal.  We spend much of the class focused on being centered and looking towards our center to be who we are. I agree withe Palmer's idea that we are born whole.  However, I am not completely in agreement that we all lose touch with our souls.  I believe that our environment greatly influences us, and if we are brought up to be who we are and not be ashamed of it but rather embrace it then that is what we will do. 
When reading with and to children, I believe it is important to read literature encouraging them to be themselves.  If we don't encourage them to do so while they are young, that is the start of them losing their wholesomeness.  We all need to strive to find the balance to be who we want to be, and who we are.